1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to computers. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for capturing data from a backup image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems and their components are subject to various failures that may result in the loss of data. For example, a storage device used in or by the computer system may experience a failure (e.g., mechanical, electrical, magnetic, etc.) that may make any data stored on the device unreadable. Erroneous software or hardware operation may corrupt the data stored on a storage device and effectively destroy the data stored on an otherwise properly functioning storage device. To mitigate the risk of losing data, a computer system may include backup software for making backup copies of data stored on various storage devices. Backups are typically made periodically according to a schedule. The data may be backed up initially to disk-based storage and then migrated to an archival storage, such as tape-based storage.
On occasion, a user's disk drive may fail. If they have backup software that performed one or more backups of the data on the disk drive, the user can use the backup(s) to restore their entire operating environment to a new disk drive. In some cases, however, the user may not desire to restore the entire operating environment, but rather only selected data, such as selected files (e.g., documents, digital photos, music files, etc.) and/or application settings (e.g., configured fonts, file shortcuts, “task bar” configuration, “wallpaper” setting, etc.). Furthermore, the user may desire to restore the selected data to a dissimilar operating environment from the previous operating environment stored on the failed disk drive. For example, the user may install a new operating system on the new disk drive, and may potentially install new and/or upgraded software applications. One technique for extracting selected data from the backup is to manually extract the data using the backup software. However, such manual extraction is a tedious process for files and nearly impossible for application settings. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus for capturing data from a backup image that overcomes the above-described problems.